than competitors. Leaders in the space have made M&M’s an example of what can be created with composable solutions. But if you double-click on the main attraction of the M&M’s site—the ability to personalize candy with unique colors, text and images—it’s actually made possible by a custom software application. So, before merchants ditch their hosted e-commerce platforms for composable commerce, they must ask themselves if they have what it takes to make the shift.
However, these customizations aren’t limitless—they can’t create truly unique experiences or integrate with tech that’s not supported by the platform. But although composable commerce addresses these challenges, it comes with its own costs and concerns. The greatest of these is that they're development platforms that require a staff of full-stack and backend developers.
Merchants should do a cost-benefit analysis to understand if the upfront and ongoing investment into composable commerce makes sense for their business at its current stage or if a hosted platform is a better choice.For brands like M&M’s, a member of the well-established Mars family, the ability to customize the e-commerce experience can mean the difference between market leadership and extinction.
Although many of these companies exist—and fuel much of the economy—the reality is that most e-commerce retailers aren’t operating at M&M’s scale. Although the ability to customize and stand out is attractive to merchants at all stages, most hosted platforms provide everything an early or mid-stage company needs to be successful at a fraction of the cost.
It remains to be seen whether Gartner is right about the need for composable commerce, but they definitely have one thing right: Consumers want unique online experiences. Modern technology allows merchants to do that with the click of a button or the combination of composable building blocks.